Location: Stamford, CT
ICF ACC Credentialed Coach
Website: paperbell.me/julia-billings
Instagram:@thejuliabillings
1. What inspired you to become a coach, and how did the IGC Coaching School help you take the leap?
As someone with a background in education and human resources, I’ve always loved witnessing people’s growth and helping them become better versions of themselves. I pivoted careers as a result of my very first engagement with a coach and realized how powerful coaching can be! Back then I thought that I’d never have the confidence to actually coach people myself, though. I love that the safe women-only environment of IGC helped me get over that imposter syndrome. Everyone’s so friendly, authentic and not pretentious.
2. What’s one powerful transformation you’ve experienced since starting Coach Training/Leaders Rising?
Since coach training, I’ve truly grown my coaching persona into it’s full expression. Before coach training, coaching was a nice-to-have to me. I have since integrated coaching into all aspects of my professional life and started my own coaching and consulting business. Coach training gave me not only the confidence, but also the tools and language I needed to get all my ducks in a row and figure this thing out.
3. How has IGC helped you step into your confidence and own your leadership?
I’ve loved all the training, coaching and support around confidence because it’s an issue that holds a lot of women back (including me). IGC helped me to nurture my “CEO within”. I’d never looked at myself from that perspective before but stepping into a CEO persona helped me to lead my business with the exact tools I needed and it massively professionalized how I approach coaching.
4. What’s one lesson you’ve learned in Coach Training/Leaders Rising that has made a big difference in your coaching or business?
My favorite lesson is that without a clear coaching request, you’re not coaching! It’s so impactful because it helps me get very clear on what my clients need – and it helps them understand that this is not a “venting” session or regular conversation!
5. What’s your favorite memory or “aha moment” from your training with IGC?
Even though I hated them at a time, the biggest “aha moments” were the mini coaching practice sessions and the feedback I got from the trainers and other students after.
6. What’s the biggest mindset shift you’ve had on your coaching journey?
My biggest mindset shift has been to realize that I won’t be the right coach for everybody – and that it’s ok!
7. What advice would you give to someone considering Coach Training or Leaders Rising?
Don’t go into this thinking you will be giving “advice”. Get some first-hand experience working with a coach first and try to learn as much about the field of coaching before you start training, so you know what you are signing up for.
8. How has your business changed since becoming a certified coach? (Clients, income, confidence, etc.)
Certification was a prerequisite for me to get paid more. I had negotiated a great coaching contract with an organization but they needed me to be ICF-certified in order to onboard me. In this regard, certification has certainly multiple X’ed my income! Certification is also an easy way to show people in my field (leadership development) that you are a coach that can be taken seriously and that they can rely on your professionalism as a coach.
9. How are you currently building visibility and growing your brand as a coach? (Social media, speaking, collaborations, etc.)
I use LinkedIn to post about what interests me in the world of coaching and leadership development and to have the occasional conversation with an interested prospect. My primary goal is to become more visible with my target organizations but that visibility is mostly built through the right credentials, referrals and word of mouth, even though I’ve had a few HR leaders reach out to me on LinkedIn too!
10. How has IGC continued to support you as a Graduate Student?
The open coaching calls and co-working sessions are such great continued support! It’s wonderful to know that whenever I need a little extra support, I can always come back and will have that community to be there for me.
11. What’s something unique about your coaching style or approach that sets you apart?
I’ve started integrating more tech and AI-assisted tools in my coaching. Though I was skeptical at first, I’m really loving the results and the data I get as a coach to use with my clients. I feel like this is something more coaches could tap into to make the best use of “hybrid intelligence”.
12. Tell us about a client transformation that deeply impacted you as a coach.
One of my clients was a senior leader in her company and a new mom. She deeply desired to spend more time with her child and considered becoming a stay-at-home mom, but she was afraid to quit her job and worried about what others might think about her “just being a mom.” Over three months of working together, she tried the stay-at-home life but didn’t find it fulfilling. With my support, she eventually negotiated a part-time contract – the best of both worlds! What was truly beautiful to witness was her transformation from feeling limited by an “either-or” mindset to fully exploring her options and discovering a solution that truly suited her. She never thought this could be possible and seeing her embrace this new chapter was incredibly rewarding.
13. What’s one business or marketing strategy that has worked really well for you?
Know where your clients hang out! I coach working professionals and people in corporate spaces and it’s much easier for me to reach them through LinkedIn than, say, Instagram. It took me a bit of trial and error to realize that but freeing up my time from activities that didn’t yield any ROI was the best thing I ever did.
14. What are you currently working on in your coaching business? (New offers, programs, retreats, speaking, etc.)
I’m preparing for my first big corporate coaching gig! It’s a great opportunity and I want to be the best coach they ever had, so they keep referring me to other orgs! I’m also working on piloting a coaching skills training for leaders that I’ll be rolling out as part of my day job.
15. What’s something about your personal journey that more people should know?
I’d probably not be a coach – or where I am now – had I not become a mom! Motherhood really inspired me to slow down, step back and reflect on whether what I was doing was right for me. And it wasn’t! I left my old job, embraced the uncertainty and came out a better person on the other side. Highly recommend!
16. What’s next for you? Any big goals or dreams you’re manifesting?
I’m dreaming about becoming one of the top executive coaches and leadership development professionals in my field. I’m working on it and I’m sure it will happen! I want to be the first person people think of when they have a leadership issue that needs solving.
17. How has coaching changed your life beyond just business?
Coaching has made me much more curious and a much better listener.
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